Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) slammed Democrats who have outright resisted the idea of supporting President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks.
Fetterman met with defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, who has been accused of sexual assault and alcoholism, on Thursday, becoming the first Senate Democrat to do so.
Many Democrats have fiercely opposed the nomination of Hegseth, along with others, such as Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health and human services chief. While Democrats don’t have the power to outright block any of Trump’s nominations, they could raise enough of a ruckus to sway centrist Senate Republicans to their side.
Fetterman thinks any Democrat not willing to listen to the nominees is doing a disservice.
“Those individuals can vent or rant on Twitter, but I’m here to have conversations, and I think I’m just doing my job,” he said during an interview with CNN’s Manu Raju before his meeting.
“I’m not sure why it would be controversial to anybody [to meet with Hegseth],” Fetterman added.
Fetterman’s meeting with Hegseth is likely to draw backlash from many on the Left who have been staunchly opposed to the former Fox News host’s nomination.
The Democratic senator, however, suggested Trump winning Pennsylvania has made him decide to hear his nominees out:
“Trump carried Pennsylvania, and he’s gonna be the next president, and it’s all part of the conversation. That’s why I’ve decided to engage with people who are going to be incredibly important parts of the new administration.”
After the talk, Hegseth called it a “wonderful meeting.”
“It was a wonderful meeting,” he said to reporters. “He’s thoughtful. He’s independent-minded. Defense, as I’ve said, is not political. National security is important for Democrats and Republicans. A great conversation with the senator.”
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Hegseth was viewed as having a steep climb to Senate confirmation. However, if Fetterman were to swing his vote to Hegseth, it would make his path to becoming the next defense secretary much easier.
Republicans have a 53 to 47 majority in the Senate with several centrists on both sides. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) have historically not been afraid to vote with Democrats on issues.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
